Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of checks on company registrations in England and Wales.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Registrar of Companies (Companies House) has a statutory obligation to incorporate a new company on receipt of a validly completed application. When registering a new company, the Registrar is carrying out a function of the state on behalf of the Government.
Companies House undertakes numerous checks on the validity of information, both at incorporation and throughout the life of the company as new information is submitted.
The Department consulted earlier this year on a broad package of possible reforms to Companies House to ensure it is fit for the future and continues to contribute to the UK’s business environment. They are designed to deliver more reliably accurate information on the companies register and enhance Companies House work in support of UK law enforcement efforts to tackle economic crime.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of incentives for directors to apply for voluntary strike-off to dispose of unwanted companies.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
A company can apply to Companies House for a voluntary strike off if it has not traded in the last three months. The process is set out in the Companies Act 2006 and is designed to safeguard those who are likely to be affected by a company’s dissolution. Guidance is also available for directors, and is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when guidance on the interpretation of national minimum wage rules relating to overnight sleep-in care including access to additional funding was issued to (a) local authority care commissioners, (b) HM Revenue and Customs and (c) care providers.
Answered by Margot James
The legislation determining when employers should pay the minimum wage for sleeping time remains unchanged since legislation was first introduced in 1998. Court and employment tribunal judgments have, over time, helped to clarify the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the minimum wage is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance was adapted in February 2015 following judgments to clarify that point.
The guidance has always been freely available on Government websites. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they pay their workers according to the law, including the National Minimum Wage regulations.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not offer guidance to social care providers regarding additional funding.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department changed its guidance on sleep-in shifts to state that a worker who was asleep could be deemed to be working up to and above national living wage; and when local authorities and care providers were informed of that change.
Answered by Margot James
The legislation determining when employers should pay the minimum wage for sleeping time remains unchanged since legislation was first introduced in 1998. Court and employment tribunal judgments have, over time, helped to clarify the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the minimum wage is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance was adapted in February 2015 following judgments to clarify that point.
The guidance has always been freely available on Government websites. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they pay their workers according to the law, including the National Minimum Wage regulations.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not offer guidance to social care providers regarding additional funding.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he and his Cabinet colleagues made to (a) their counterparts in the US Administration and (b) US industry on subsidies provided by Washington State for Boeing's Dreamliner.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The European Union has competency for all trade matters that involve the WTO and while we have been closely engaged with the Commission they led all the negotiations and arguments concerning the case regarding Washington State’s support for Boeings Dreamliner.